One-Laptop-Per-Child director wants teachers included in the project

The Chief Executive of One-Laptop-per-Child, Rodrigo Arboleda, has announced intentions to partner with Rwanda on a long-term project that would benefit both teachers and pupils.

Arboleda disclosed this yesterday after meeting with President Paul Kagame at Village Urigwiro, where the two took stock of the just concluded Transform Africa Summit and the progress of the One-Laptop-per-Child project in Rwanda.

“The programme should be labelled One-Laptop-Per-Child-and-Teacher because the first person that should have these laptops is the teacher, otherwise they can’t pass on the elements… it’s a complete eco-system of learning that we should set up,” he said.

The government launched in September 2008, the One-Laptop-per-Child  programme targeting pupils in Standard Four to Six (P4 – P6).

The country had a total primary school population of just over 2.3 million as of 2011.

As of September 2012, exactly four years after the launch, according to the Rwanda Education Board, there were about 115,000 computers in primary schools across the country.

Arboleda pointed out that One-Laptop-per-Child  programme has been a success in Rwanda.

“To develop children and make them participants of creation of their wealth is a success which is priceless,” he said.

“To date, we already have 220,000 laptops in place in Rwanda, 42,000 others are on the way and we are now considering, with government, a five-year plan to expand the project. The idea we have with the President is making Rwanda a One-Laptop-Per-Child country soon,” said Arboleda.

Speaking at the just-concluded Summit, Arboleda said Rwanda has the potential of creating a new breed of citizens who can digitally hyper enough to transform Africa.

“Transform Africa Summit has been a milestone in creating awareness and demonstrating results in regards to transforming Africa and making it a participant in economic and social development in the 21st century,” Arboleda told journalists.

He said his organisation wants to contribute to the dream and vision of making Rwanda the transformational hub of Africa in terms of participating in the digital age economies.

“We need to create wealth in the 21st century and that wealth is called, intellectual property, patents, inventions, creativity and exploration. In Rwanda you have the best possible opportunity to create a new profile of a citizen that can take that challenge and make it happen,” said Arboleda.

One-Laptop-Per-Child director wants teachers included in the project